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Pat Kelly

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Everything posted by Pat Kelly

  1. You are welcome, Tom. I'm glad to be a part of the B&B community, still loving my boat after 8 years.
  2. Try that link on Vimeo, the resolution is better, same clip. Should be able to cut and paste the web address from the webpage.
  3. I have been thinking about and planning this trip for almost a year. There is only a small window of opportunity to make a run like this, you need enough water in the slough and a good north wind. In the summer there is plenty of water but no north wind, in the winter there is plenty of north wind but the water levels drop so that it is not passable. Fall is the only time to do it. The park service post real time water depth readings from several stations along the route to help with the planning and we were just waiting for a nice cold front to come through to blow us down wind. There really is no turning back once started as it is too far to push and you need a N to NE wind of at least 15 knots to make it work as the grass can be quite sticky and the friction slows you down. We launched in the L67 canal on the South side of Tamiami Trail and sailed down that for a few miles before portaging through 400 feet of tall sawgrass and cattails to get to a park service airboat trail. You can follow the airboat trail all the way down to the headwaters of the Shark River and the run is almost all in a Southwest direction with the exception of a couple miles where we coaxed the boat into a beam reach with only a couple inches of centerboard and rudder in the water. The inland portion of the trip was all in water no deeper than 2'. Once in the creeks, it was a nice fast sail 35 miles mostly downwind and across Whitewater Bay back to the boat ramp in Flamingo. Two full days, sunup to sundown, about 75 miles, lots of sore muscles
  4. I think this youtube video link will work...
  5. If you clink the Spot page you should be able to toggle from map to satellite view that will give you the google earth look. This trip was most likely the first of its kind in terms of the size of the boat that has made it through Shark River slough, at least in modern times. Here's a couple more pictures
  6. You all might like this trip. Tony Pernas and I just finished an amazing run through the everglades in my Core Sound 20 number 17. I found out that a CS20 can do a broad reach through 4 foot sawgrass in 18" of water. That was the fun part. I also found out that it is possible to push her through 6 foot sawgrass in 8" of water for a mile or so but it ain't easy. That was the hard part. I'll try to paste a link to our Spot track as well as some photos, still waiting for more video to download. The boat performed flawlessly, I love my Core Sound! http://share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/viewspots.jsp?glId=0vnyuhJz64ekpjAoP8GCIr912oKQ3AYlC You have to open all 5 pages to see the whole trip.
  7. I have my CS 20 in Key Largo and sail her when I can. I just saw a new CS 17 in the parking lot of the Miami Yacht Club, can't remember the owners name. Yes, great waters for sailing here, long season too. Pat
  8. I've not done any sailing outside of coastal Florida but can certainly recommend the area for some fine winter sailing. I just recently moved to the Miami area with my CS20 in tow and having the boat here has been a saving grace. My wife and I have explored many areas within a short drive of the city and while Miami in my opinion is an overcrowded and frustrating place the near shore waters here are still clear, warm, and shallow. I particularly like Florida Bay around the upper Keys for fishing and birdwatching and Whitewater Bay which is brackish lake within the Everglades Park. It's a bit of a drive from just about anywhere but the bugs aren't bad, it's not too hot, and we have some fair winds this time of year. Pat
  9. I ran a planer up the seam where the two bottom panels meet a few times to make a flat surface to mate with my keel stock. Then I sheathed the entire hull in fiberglass before bedding in and screwing down the keel. I don't remember how the plans read on this one. Pat
  10. I have been sailing my CS20 for about a year and a half. While I've only single handed her a couple times, I am always thinking along those lines as I trailer, launch, retrieve, rig, reef, dock, and sail. Trailering is a breeze, the boat is light and easy to tow and though my trailer is 8' wide it doesn't need to be that way in fact it would be easier around town with a narrower trailer. I put those plastic bunk covers on my trailer so I can launch the boat with an easy shove. Sometimes I rig the masts in the parking lot before I launch, sometimes I step the masts while floating. Stepping the masts is the trickiest part for me, I leave the sails furled around the masts and lift the whole rig off the boat, spin it, get it vertical, and ease it into its step by myself. The difficulty factor increases with windage and boat movement. The sprits and sheets rig in a couple minutes, drop the rudder into place and you are off. The boat is as simple to sail as Graham says docile on all points of sail, fine in light airs best in medium strength wind. I think it performs well on all points of sail because of its light weight and with its beam it feels stable. I've never tipped it over but I know it will go as I buried the rail and let some water in over the coaming one day.(the rudder had kicked up and the helm didn't respond as I put it over) I've had it planing on a beam reach with four guys on board. I've never been out in even moderately rough seas but I think the boat would handle a pretty good chop well. I would like to make arrangements so that in a reefing situation or in an approaching thunderstorm I could tend the mainsail without spending too much time standing on the forward deck. I love my Core Sound, it's a great design that sails fast and easy and looks good doing it.
  11. I will be on the Kenai Peninsula for the last half of July and the first half of August. I would love to go for a sail during that time. If you are trailering south at all, let me know via email. I may come up to the interior also. Pat
  12. Wow, With all this talk, I found my way back (again) to the B&B site and had a good look at this little tender. She looks great and her racing history says a lot. Now I am thinking of building one myself. After my modest success at putting together the Core Sound 20 and with my confidence in Graham's designs and assistance, you might just see me at the next B&B messabout with a couple of B&B winners in tow. Pat
  13. Styge, Those are an incredible group of construction photos. It looks like you did a great job turning the Core Sound into an aluminum boat, tape and tack I guess. Did you work with Graham on it much? I love it, got any photos of the tin bin on the water? How's the salmon fishing this year? Pat Kelly CS 20 #17
  14. Rob, That's a good question and one I have been thinking of for quite a while now. I am thinking along the lines of the Honda 2 four stroke. Super light weight, air cooled, integral gas tank, etc. Probably too small to move the CS20 upwind or upcurrent all that well but as an auxillary it might be a good choice. I will mount mine on a lightwieght bracket off the transom. For me the weight is the deciding factor. I am interested in what others think. Pat
  15. Graham. Your designs are beautiful and the individual boats are satisifying to build and sail. You said about the core sound boats that they are not designed to be racing boats but I appreciate how you design for speed. Keep up the good work and thanks. Pat
  16. Gordy, Pete, Being recently married and an owner of a CS20, I can say with authority that yes, even a married person can handle the launch and retrieval single handed. (and Gordy before you ask, I do have two hands) I also coated my bunks with plastic and found that the boat slides both in and out of the water far better than with carpeted bunks. I used the commercially available plastic bunk covers that come in 2x4 or 2x6 sizing. Boat trailers like a dream behind my 1/2 ton pickup. Pat
  17. I just looked and saw that I paid less than $45 per sheet of BS1088 okoume 6mm (1/4"). It was 2 years ago and I did pay freight to have it shipped to my house but for all the ply for my CS 20 (15 sheets total) the freight was only about $14 a sheet. I found them online at MacBeath Hardwood. Macbeath.com. Pat
  18. I reef just like Charlie does, the only change in snotter position I do is when I lower the mizzen to just above the thwart to lower the center of effort and reduce heeling. I use a 5/8 stainless steel sail track and run it down to just above the thwart on the mizzen and just above the deck on the main. I ordered it from my local handy West Marine store. Pat
  19. I use the three piece mast with a sail track, I put a tapered fiberglass transition collar between the three diameters Graham suggested. Sail track bends through these transitions pretty well and reefing is done like the big guys do it. I find that in a decent breeze the masts rotate in their steps to where the track is on the lee side of the mast. In light airs, I do the rotating. The sprit only rubs on the mast, not the track. If I could get my digital camera back from whom I lent it to, I would try my hand at posting a photograph or two. Pat
  20. The gunwale/rubrail on my CS20 is made fron 3/8" by 1 1/4" teak I bought from a local cabinet shop here in Gainesville. I resawed to those dimensions because it was all I could get out of the board. I oiled it and screwed it down to make it "sacrificial" but even with several scrapes it still looks good. Pat
  21. I've never rowed my CS 20, I didn't even put in oarlocks. I thought I could put them in later if/when I needed them. I don't think I will though, instead I keep a couple canoe paddles in the forward hatches on the port side opposite my Gordy Hill rod locker. I use them all the time really, beaching, tying up, getting under bridges, at crowded docks. She paddles really well, better than I thought, I suspect she would row well too. My next investment might be one of those Honda 2 Horse on a lightweight bracket from West Marine off the transom. It sure will be a real shame to mess up those fine lines. Pat
  22. On my CS 20 I didn't use any fasteners on the deck as I wanted to finish it bright and didn't want to see them. I eased the camber forward as Graham suggested and weighted down the deck with an odd assortment of containers filled with water. It has worked out fine, I think I got a good bond and it looks good also. It was nice, though, to hear that Graham advocated a fastener-less deck. Pat Kelly
  23. My masts were, in fact, from Doug Fir, I got them out of some clear 2x8's I found at the lumberyard, resawed them and scarfed them so that the grain ran radially to the mast diameter. Maybe the lumber was of poor quality but I don't believe so. I also thought (after the fact) about running a plug up the center to the height of the partner then tapering it and I believe this probably would have prevented the mast failure. Still, I think the sticks were too bendy to keep a good sail shape. After I built my new alum masts, I transferred the 5/8" SS sail track from the old masts to the new. I transitioned the differing diameters with fiberglass and epoxy in a conical shape about six inches long. The track bends well and the sail runs up and down without a problem. I scuffed up the aluminum and painted the whole thing with Petit Easypoxy which has held up pretty well, considering. I like the sail track method though I still just furl the sails around the mast rather than drop them down. I do, however, have the ability to reef with reef points sewn into the sails and I can lower the mizzen if need be to lower the center of effort in a breeze.
  24. I built birdsmouth masts for my CS20 (#17) out of clear lumberyard fir. They were 3 1/4" diameter at the base and up to halfway then tapered to 1 1/2" at the top. The staves had a 3/4" wall thickness and they went together really well. I varnished them and they looked great, I was really proud of them. I decided to use a mast track after meeting with Graham in North Carolina, I found a nice aluminum sheave, notched it in on top and ran my sails up with a halyard. At twenty feet plus they turned out to be really bendy. In a good blow one day I got scared they would break and then they did. The mizzen mast broke just above the thwart, it got crushed over time and gave out. When I stopped crying I got some .083 tubing and made the masts the way Graham spells out in the plans. They are lighter than the doug fir and and maybe three times stiffer (faster). Maybe I did something wrong but I think now that you can't beat aluminum for the CS20 masts. They need to be light, stiff, and strong.
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